The 2024 Report of the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change presents a stark warning about the escalating health impacts driven by the climate crisis and the misalignment of resources that could address them. Released Tuesday by the University College London-led Lancet Countdown, the report underscores the urgent need to redirect more than $1 trillion currently spent on fossil fuel subsidies toward mitigating climate-related health threats and accelerating the transition to renewable energy.
According to the Lancet Countdown, the continued delay in addressing the climate emergency has pushed 10 of 15 health-related indicators to “concerning new levels,” with rising temperatures, drought, and extreme weather events heightening global health risks. “This year’s stocktake of the imminent health threats of climate inaction reveals the most concerning findings yet in our eight years of monitoring,” said Marina Romanello, executive director of the Lancet Countdown and a senior research fellow at UCL. She noted that 2023 was another record-breaking year for climate extremes, with widespread heatwaves, wildfires, and deadly weather events harming communities across the globe.
The European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service reported that 2023 was the hottest year on record, and the average person experienced 50 additional days of extreme temperatures that would not have occurred without fossil fuel-driven climate change. Particularly at risk are older adults, with heat-related deaths among those over 65 increasing by 167% since the 1990s. The death rate for this group is now more than double what it would have been without rising temperatures, exposing a vulnerable population to even more significant health challenges.
The report also highlights a concerning rise in food and water insecurity. An estimated 151 million additional people across 124 countries faced moderate to severe food shortages last year, driven by drought conditions that affected nearly half of global land area. With each year bringing new records of heat and drought, such instability is contributing to malnutrition and a widening health crisis, particularly in lower-income and agricultural communities that rely on stable weather patterns.
As climate conditions worsen, infectious diseases are also spreading to new areas. Warmer temperatures, combined with flooding from extreme rainfall events, create environments where diseases like dengue fever thrive. According to the Lancet Countdown, the range of mosquito-borne diseases is expanding, and climate-driven changes are leading to increased cases of bacterial infections such as vibriosis in warmer coastal waters. “The mosquitoes that spread infections like dengue fever epidemics are reaching new countries and gradually moving north,” warned Anthony Costello, co-chair of the Countdown.
Despite the mounting evidence of climate change’s deadly impact, Romanello highlighted a troubling trend: investments in fossil fuels continue to grow, with more than a third of new energy spending in 2023 funneled into fossil fuels. This global addiction to fossil fuel energy persists even as experts issue urgent calls to phase it out to avert further catastrophic warming. “We see financial resources continue to be invested in the very things that undermine our health,” Romanello added. According to The Hill, global governments are collectively spending $1.4 trillion annually on fossil fuel subsidies, effectively incentivizing a system that endangers health worldwide.
Governments’ fossil fuel subsidies are substantial, reaching or even exceeding 10% of national health budgets in 55% of countries, according to the report. In 27% of these countries, subsidies equal the total of health spending. Redirecting these resources could significantly bolster health systems against the impacts of climate change, which the report emphasizes are neither regional nor temporary. “No individual or economy on the planet is immune from the health threats of climate change,” said Romanello, adding that emissions from fossil fuel combustion reached 40 gigatonnes last year, directly worsening air quality and public health.
The Lancet Countdown’s analysis underscores that many health systems remain underprepared for climate-driven health emergencies. Only 68% of countries report that they have developed and implemented high-to-very-high capacity for managing such emergencies, and a mere 35% of countries have early warning systems for heat-related illnesses. The under-preparedness is most evident in countries with fewer resources, where climate-driven health threats are particularly severe.
Ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Azerbaijan, the report’s authors urge world leaders to prioritize climate finance for public health. They are calling for a “fair, equitable transition” to clean energy to protect vulnerable populations from growing climate health threats. A joint brief by the Lancet Countdown and Médecins Sans Frontières advocates for climate finance to “support health resilience” and reduce climate impacts on health by integrating anticipatory actions into public health strategies. The brief emphasizes the need for “adequate, predictable, and unified climate finance” to prepare health ministries for climate-induced emergencies.
Shifting focus toward a zero-emissions future would have far-reaching health and economic benefits, according to experts. Redirecting fossil fuel subsidies could support essential health systems and establish cleaner, healthier energy practices. “People’s health must be put front and center of climate change policy to ensure the funding mechanisms protect well-being, reduce health inequities, and maximize health gains, especially for the countries and communities that need it most,” said Costello.
The data also showed that fossil fuel subsidies disproportionately affect lower-income populations, who bear the brunt of climate-related health issues but benefit the least from government spending in this area. The Lancet Countdown’s findings reveal that the richest, most polluting countries are also the least affected by the climate health crisis, an imbalance that further exacerbates global health inequalities.
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres stated, “We must cure the sickness of climate inaction—by slashing emissions, protecting people from climate extremes, and ending our fossil fuel addiction—to create a fairer, safer, and healthier future for all.”
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